Method of making designs in relief



Sept. 19, 1939. A. P. D. BELANGER METHOD OF MAKING DESIGNS IN RELIEF Filed Feb. 6, 1937 Patented Sept. 19, 1939' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Albert P. D. Belangel', Chicago, 111., assignor to Burgess Battery Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Wisconsin Application February 6,

6 Claims.

This invention relates to the making of designs in relief, particularly decorative designs for artistic and commercial purposes.

It is the object of the invention to provide improved designs in relief which have a wide field of application. It is also an object of the invention to provide improved methods for making and reproducing such designs.

Heretofore, designs in relief have been produced by carving or machining them in wood or soft metal, such as brass; by modeling with plaster or plaster of Paris or in leather; by chiseling in stone, etc. Most of these methods are laborious and expensive, and the fields of application of the products are severely limited.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an article decorated with a design in relief in accordance with this invention; and

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View along line 2-2 Fig. 1.

Briefly, the present invention comprises the production of designs upon sheet material which is plastic when moist and is strong, stiff and substantially self-sustaining when dry and has the property of retaining the modeled configurations permanently. The designs are first traced by hand pressure with a pointed tool upon the face of the sheet material in such manner as to show the outline and details thereof, after which the sheet is made plastic by moistening the same and the relief is produced by locally working the rear surface of the sheet by hand pressure with a tool in such manner that the material of the sheet is displaced forwardly from the plane thereof. After the design and the relief have been properly worked upon the sheet, the latter is allowed to dry, whereby it becomes sufficiently stiff and rigid so as to retain its form permanently.

The sheet material which is suitable for the purpose of this invention is of the same character as the material from which stereotype mats of the type called dry mats are made. It is a special type of paper board comprising a thick sheet of cellulose fibers, such as wood or cotton fibers, which is plastic when moistened or humidified, and is capable of receiving impressions when type or other hard objects are pressed against its surface. The material is nonelastic 50 whereby it retains the impressions substantially permanently. When the sheet is dry its surface is relatively hard and firm and the sheet is stiff and substantially self-sustaining. Examples of suitable sheet materials are those described in 5;, Schorger United States Patents Nos. 1,524,155

1937, .Serial No. 124,394

and 1,720,243. For the purposes of the present invention, the thickness of the sheet may be varied, thicknesses of from .03 inch to .04 inch being suitable, and the preferred thickness being approximately .035 inch. The surface of the 5 sheet upon which the design is to be formed will be called the face. To promote the plasticity of the sheet and the smoothness of the face thereof, a coating composition may be applied to said face such as is disclosed in Schorger United States Patent No. 1,863,731.

Thesheetis first placed upon a suitable supporting surface with the face thereof uppermost. The outline and details of the design are traced upon the face of the sheet with a pointed instrument, such as a steel tracer, bone or agate stylus, a hard pencil, jewelers chasing tool, or other suitable instrument. The tool should have a point of the proper degree of sharpness so as to produce the desired width of mark. The sheet material yields readily to the pressure of the pointed tool, and possesses substantially no elasticity whereby a substantially permanent local impression is made with substantially no depression at the area adjacent to the said impression. A satisfactory impression may be made by a single operation for substantially anytype of design detail, fine or heavy. The result is a clear cut, distinct design. The sheet material possesses sufficient tensile strength and firmness that it is not torn by the tool and its surface is not marred by the pressure of the hands of the operator. This is a distinct advantage which the plastic sheet material described possesses over plastic materials which have been used heretofore for modeling or tooling purposes.

After the design has been impressed upon the face of the sheet, the latter is removed from the supporting surface and is moistened with water. The coating on the face retards to some extent the moisture transfer to the sheet, and for this reason, it is preferable to apply the moisture to the rear surface thereof. After the sheet has been moistened, it should be allowed to rest for a few minutes, in order that the moisture may distribute itself uniformly throughout the body of the sheet. The design may then be retraced if it is desired to make it sharper and the lines deeper. The relief is then created by means of a smooth-surfaced tool, of the character known as a modeling tool and preferably having a blunt end. This is pressed by hand pressure against the rear surface of the sheet and is moved simultaneously over the area where it is desired to raise the material in relief. During this operation the sheet is supported in such manner that pressure is not applied to the face at the area directly opposite the point where the tool is being applied to the rear surface of the sheet. This may be accomplished by holding the sheet with the hand and exerting the supporting pressure with the fingers against the face at the areas adjacent, and preferably on two sides of the area where the tool is being applied. The modeling tool is moved slowly and with sufficient pressure to move the material of the sheet laterally out of the general plane of the sheet a distance in conformity with the degree of relief desired. This operation is called raising the relief.

The amount of moisture required for this operation is not critical, the sheet material in general, becoming more plastic as the moisture content increases. However, so much moisture should not be used that the sheet loses its firmness and tensile strength to the extent that it will not withstand the necessary handling and use. Satisfactory results may be obtained within a moisture content range of from five to forty percent by weight, and best results are obtained within a range of from ten to thirty percent.

The non-elastic character of the material results in the permanent deformation of the sheet so that it is not necessary to work the sheet upon the rear surface with the modeling tool a second time in order to raise a permanent relief. Both low relief, in which the relief is raised a relatively small amount, and high relief, in which the relief is raised to a greater extent may be created by my improved process. With the sheet material of the character described herein, moistened as described, it is possible to displace the material a quarter inch abruptly laterally of the plane of the sheet. The height to which the relief can be raised depends upon the area of the raised portion, the larger areas being susceptible of higher relief. Hollow relief may also be formed, in which the material of the sheet is displaced toward the rear surface, or the surface opposite the face.

After the relief has been raised and this step in the process has been completed, it may be desired to obliterate the impressed outline of the design so that the relief will project from the immediate plane of the face of the sheet. For this purpose, the sheet may again be rested upon a supporting surface with the face uppermost and a flat surfaced modeling tool may be drawn over the face of the sheet from points adjacent the outline of the design toward and to the actual outline of the design, a gentle pressure being exerted during these operations. The effect upon the plastic material is to move some of it longitudinally of the sheet and into the depression constituting the outline of the design. This operation also tends to increase the height of the relief within the adjacent portions of the design. If the operations are carried out carefully, they will cause no marring of the face of the sheet and there will be no perceptible eifect upon the plane surface of the sheet.

After the design has been created in the manner described, the sheet may be dried in any desired manner. There may be some tendency for the sheet to warp during drying. To overcome this, it is frequently sufficient to place the sheet upon a suitable support and lay sheets of paper or cloth upon it, or weights may be placed upon it at suitable places, preferably points not occupied by the design, whereby the sheet is held in substantially flat condition until it becomes dry. The sheet may also be held flat by distributing over it some granular material, such as sand, or pieces of metal, such as lead shot. The material may be contained in a partially filled bag whereby the handling thereof is facilitated. The material may also be heated before it is placed on the sheet so that it will assist in the drying operation. Warping may also be minimized by applying a coating of brushing lacquer to the rear surface of the sheet.

After the sheet has become dry, the design is complete and is suitable for decorative uses and is adapted for further treatment and operations of many kinds. The design may be mounted or displayed in any desired manner. It may be stained or painted, the material of the sheet being susceptible of being painted upon with any desired paint. It may also be lacquered with a colored or a colorless lacquer. It may be covered with metal foil or metal leaf, such as gold, silver or bronze foil or leaf. This may be fastened to the sheet by means of an adhesive and the covering may be given a protective coating of colorless lacquer. A metal coating may be applied to the design by spraying molten metal against the same.

The finished design may be applied to any desired object. It may be pasted or glued to the surface of a plain support to form a placque, to the top or other surface of a box or other container to provide a decorative effect, or to the covers of a book, etc.

The drawing illustrates a design in relief applied to a shaped object to form a book end. The sheet I!) carries the design ll thereon, produced by the method described heretofore. The sheet Ill is attached to the surface of a suitably shaped, plain surfaced base l2, which may be of wood, or metal, or other suitable material. The attaching means comprises sealing wax l3 which is arranged to fill the spaces between the raised portions of the design and the surface of the base 12, and serves as a positive support for said raised portions in addition to serving as an adhesive. It is understood that any suitable adhesive may be used. A plate (not shown) may project laterally rearward from the bottom of the base l2 in the usual manner for maintaining the book-end in the upright posi tion. The sheet, carrying the design in relief, provides a decorative facing for the book-end.

The process of this invention is adapted for the production of many useful articles in addition to purely decorative designs. Relief maps, dioramas, back-grounds for window displays, forms for taxidermy purposes and other similar products may be formed.

A design of the character described herein, may be reproduced readily. As an example, the sheet with the design thereon, made as described heretofore, may have molten type metal or Babbitt metal cast against both sides thereof, and allowed to solidify to form two metal forms. The stereotype mat material is particularly well suited for such operation since it is designed to have molten type metal cast against it for printing purposes. The surface of each of the metal forms will have acquired a duplicate, in negative, of the surface characteristics of the side of the sheet with which it has been in contact. The forms may be used thereafter as dies, and by placing between them a moistened plain sheet of the sheet material described herein, and pressing the dies together with suitable pressure, the desaid sheet may be dried. Any desired number of reproductions of the design may be made in this manner.

The completed design may also be used as a pattern for the casting of reproductions thereof in sand from metal in the ordinary manner. As an example, if it is desired to cast a book end from metal, the pattern thereof may be made of wood in the usual manner, except that the decorative surface will be left plain and a design, made in the manner described heretofore, may be applied by adhesive to said surface as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 after which the pattern may be used in the usual manner for casting metal reproductions thereof in sand. In a similar manner. the sheet material of this invention may be used alone for the making of patterns for the manufacture of decorative hardware of all kinds, such as is used in the interiors and exteriors of buildings. In this way, the expensive and laborious process of making patterns by carving them from wood or a soft metal, such as brass, is dispensed with.

The modeled product of this invention may be used as a pattern for the casting of models, such as placques and the like, from plaster or plaster of Paris or other suitable material. The modeled sheet, alone or with a backing of the desired shape, may have the design formed therein in negative and be used directly as the mold, thus eliminating an operation of the process which is used at the present time, wherein a wax or plaster original is first made and then a plaster mold is made from the wax or plaster original.

While but one form of procedure is set out herein, it is understood that there may be variations therefrom without departing from the spirit of the invention. Instead of tracing the design directly upon the face of the sheet, it may be traced through a pattern carried by a thin, flexible sheet. The thin sheet, with the pattern of the design drawn or printed thereon, may be placed over the thick sheet and attached to the latter in a suitable manner, and the design may be traced with a pointed tool upon the thin sheet, the design being transferred simultaneously to the thick sheet.

As another variation, the thick sheet material may be moistened before the design is traced thereon. This may be somewhat less convenient because the hand may not slide so readily on the moist paper. On the other hand, in some cases, the design and the relief may be formed without moistening the sheet. Although the sheet is relatively hard and stiff when dry, it possesses some plasticity, and usually contains a small amount of moisture by absorption from the atmosphere and where the design and the relief are to be relatively shallow they may be formed on a dry sheet and the sheet retains permanently the deformation which it has undergone.

Instead'of the design being traced and the relief formed by moving a tool over the surface of the sheet material, they may be formed therein by an operation in which the tool is stationary during the time that pressure is exerted against the surface of the sheet. This is similar to the process which is used in tooling sheet metal, such as brass, for decorative purposes. In this process, the tool is placed against the face of the sheet and pressure exerted upon it, either by the hand or by tapping it lightly with a hammer of suitable character, such as wood. The tool is moved about between the applications of pressure to form the design.

I claim: 1

1. The methodof producing designs in relief which comprises depressing the details of said design into the surface of a sheet of stereotype mat paper with a tool, and locally working the surface of said sheet under pressure with a tool to move the material of said sheet laterally of the plane of said sheet to create said relief.

2. The method of producing designs in relief which comprises locally depressing the surface of a sheet of stereotype mat paper to form the details of said design, moistening said sheet to render it plastic, and locally working the surface of said sheet under pressure with a tool to move the material of said sheet laterally of the plane of said sheet to create said relief and allowing said sheet to dry.

3. The method of producing designs in relief which comprises resting upon a supporting surface a relatively thick sheet of stereotype mat paper, locally depressing the exposed face of said sheet to form the details of said design, moistening said sheet to render it plastic, removing said sheet from said support and locally working the rearward surface of said sheet by means of pressure with a tool to move the material of said sheet laterally out of the plane of said sheet to create said relief, and allowing said sheet to dry.

4. The method of producing designs in relief which comprises resting upon a supporting surface a relatively thick sheet of stereotype'mat paper, tracing said design upon the exposed face of said sheet with a tool with sufficient pressure to depress said design into said paper, moistening said sheet to render it plastic, removing said sheet from said support and locally working the rearward surface of said sheet laterally out of the plane of said sheet, resting said sheet upon a supporting surface, placing a weight upon said sheet to prevent warping thereof, and allowing said sheet to dry.

5. The method of forming designs in relief which comprises locally depressing the surface of a sheet of stereotype mat paper having a thickness of from .03 inch to .04 inch to form the details of said design, moistening said sheet to a moisture content of from approximately ten to thirty percent by Weight, locally working a surface of said sheet under pressure with a tool to displace the material of said sheet laterally from the plane thereof to form said relief, resting said sheet upon a supporting surface, placing a body of loose material upon the surface of said sheet to prevent warping thereof, and allowing said sheet to dry.

6. The method of producing designs in relief which comprises placing upon a support a relatively thick sheet of stereotype mat paper, placing over said sheet a thin sheet having a design thereon, tracing said design with a tool with suflicient pressure to depress said design into said relatively thick sheet, moistening said relatively thick sheet, locally working the surface of said relatively thick sheet under pressure with a tool to move the material thereof out of the plane of said sheet to create said relief, and allowing said sheet to dry.

ALBERT P. D. BELANGER. 

